The Farthest Quasar Mini-Broad Absorption Line Outflow from Its Central Source: Very Large Telescope/UVES Observation of SDSS J0242+0049

Abstract

We analyze Very Large Telescope/UVES observations of the quasar SDSS J024221.87+004912.6. We identify four absorption outflow systems: a C iv broad absorption line (BAL) at v ≈ −18,000 km s ⁻¹ and three narrower low-ionization systems with centroid velocities ranging from –1200 to –3500 km s ⁻¹. These outflows show similar physical attributes to the [O iii] outflows studied by Liu et al. (2013). We find that two of the systems are energetic enough to contribute to active galactic nucleus feedback, with one system reaching above 5% of the quasar’s Eddington luminosity. We also find that this system is at a distance of 67 kpc away from the quasar, the farthest detected mini-BAL absorption outflow from its central source to date. In addition, we examine the time-variability of the BAL and find that its velocity monotonically increases, while the trough itself becomes shallower over time.